The deal
by ChristabelLaMotte
Summary: An alternative take on episode 14: Beth asks Josef for help, but what if he wanted something in exchange?
1. Chapter 1

_THE DEAL_

_Hi everybody! _

_This is not the first fanfiction I write but it's the first I dare to post...remember this and remember also that English is not my first language._

_I've been a great fan of the love story between Mick and Beth since the first episode of Moonlight, but this plot bunny was born watching episode 14: after the scene in which Beth asks for Josef's help, my husband commented: "Is she crazy? She should know that this kind of favours is very expensive". That was it, not to mention the fact that Josef really grew on me during the show. _

_So, here we go..._

"So, what do you want me to do, Beth?" Josef looked at the pictures she had brought, scattered on his mahogany desk. The pictures which showed Mick thrown over by a car without suffering any damage. Beth watched his face: he was very sombre. She hesitated: "I…I don't know, I thought you could take care of this somehow…". In less than a second he was in front of her; Beth gasped: she hadn't even seen him move. He was so close she could smell his designer cologne: suddenly she felt a lump in her throat. Fear, that's what it was: deep down, she had always been scared of him because she had known from the start that he was nothing like Mick. He was a predator. And he enjoyed it.

Josef talked, his voice smooth as silk: "Why did you come to me, Beth?" Focusing her eyes on the knot of his blue tie, she tried not to stammer: "I thought you could talk with Foster…pay him…". He cupped her chin and gently lifted her face, so that he could see her eyes: "And you think it will work?". His voice was still soft, but his brown eyes were steely; Beth blushed and against her will admitted: "No. Not with Foster. He won't stop unless…" "Unless he gets what he wants. Or unless someone else stops him. Beth, you know what it means. You know how I will take care of the situation, don't you?" The firm grasp of his cold fingers didn't let her lower her head: he saw her blue eyes filling with shame and tears, but at last she whispered: "Yes. Yes, I do". He let her go. She turned and went to window, wiping away the tears. She couldn't believe it: she had just asked him to kill a man. True, Foster was mad, a stalker, a threat to the man she loved and who had saved and protected her since she was four, but nonetheless…

When Josef spoke, she gave a start: "This kind of favour is expensive. What will I get if I satisfy you request?" She turned to face him again: he was sitting on a corner of the desk, a playful look on his seemingly young face. He laughed openly seeing her amazed expression. "You didn't really think I would do it for free, did you? " "Well, I did: I thought you too cared for Mick". He cut short his laughter: "And I do. But it's not Mick who's asking for help. You are. And you don't want him to know anything about it. You decided to handle this on your own, so you must take responsibility for your choices. So, what will I get?" "I don't know. What do you want?" she blurted out, without thinking. He seemed to ponder the question, then he smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, not at all. It was the grin of a wolf that has cornered its prey. Beth felt scared again; she could hear her heart beating louder, the blood running faster in her veins…and he could hear it too, as she understood when he smirked in that arrogant way of his. Josef got up from the desk and slowly, lazily, walked towards her. _Run!, _she silently screamed to herself, but her brain knew better than that. Running would have been useless. She knew he could sense her fear, she saw he was relishing it. He stopped a few inches from her: leaning, he whispered in her ear: "What do you offer me?" Beth moved away abruptly, shocked by the hint in his voice. His face was impossible to read, though. _What does he want? What could he want from me?_, Beth mused frantically. Then, like a flash, she got the answer: _my blood_. _What else could it be?_ She swallowed and finally succeeded in saying: "Everything you want". Her voice sounded shaky and hoarse, but the words were clear. Josef twisted his mouth in a crooked smile: "Everything? Are you sure?" She held his gaze fiercely: "I'm sure". He suddenly turned away from her: "Fine. It's a deal, then. I'll contact you". She didn't bother to answer: all she wanted to do was get out of that office as soon as possible. The last thing she heard before slamming the door behind her was his cheerful voice: "Remember, Beth: a deal is a deal".


	2. Chapter 2

**I humbly apologize for the long delay, but life really took over in the last months. I thank with all my heart all the people that reviewed the first chapter and those who put my story on their alert: you really gave me inspiration!**

**DISCLAIMER**** (I was so excited at the idea of posting that I forgot it in the first chapter): I don't own Moonlight, otherwise the show would have had a second season...and a third…and a fourth…**

_Two days later._

It wasn't still midnight, but Beth felt so tired all she could think of was having a shower and going straight to bed. That night Mick, with her help, had finally framed Tierney Taylor's murderer. She was glad it was over and she could see the relief on Mick's face when the paparazzi ignored him to surround the killer and Talbot. Foster was nowhere to be seen. _If only Mick knew_, she thought. But he didn't: he had the right to rest, to be quiet for a while. She had taken her decision and in spite of everything she didn't regret it. _Yeah, wait until Josef ask for his "reward"_, a little malignant voice whispered in her brain. _I'll think about it when it's time. A problem a day is more than enough. _She shrugged and unlocked her door. Mick had left her with a tender kiss and the promise to meet the following day. As soon as she entered her house, she kicked away her shoes, sighing with satisfaction. She took a long, hot shower; then she put on her blue bathrobe, she pulled her damp hair in a loose bun and decided to treat herself to a glass of chilly white wine. She stopped for a moment in the living room, just the time to put a CD in the stereo. It was Bach's _Goldberg Variations_ played by Glenn Gould. The quality of the recording was so good that Beth could hear that amazing pianist humming his way throughout all the passages. While she was pouring the wine, she felt for a moment a slight breeze grazing her neck. She looked around, uncertain. She knew she had closed all the windows before going out that afternoon. She shook her head: _tiredness can really mess with people's mind_. She took the glass of wine and moved to the living room, enjoying the music that filled the air. For a moment she stood there, leaning against the doorframe, in the darkness, relaxing. Then she turned on the light…and choked a scream.

Josef was comfortably sitting on her sofa, his Armani grey jacket casually thrown in a corner, his black shirt unbuttoned at the neck, sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

"How did you get in?" she hissed, angry at his intrusion.

Ignoring her question, he closed his eyes and with a long, slender hand followed the music. "Ah…wonderful, isn't it? Bach himself would have appreciated his touch, I can bet on that. He could recognize genius because he was one of them".

She looked at him in awe for a moment then she spat out: "Don't try to fool me with your usual _I'm __a vampire-and-I've met a lot of famous people_ crap! I asked how did you get in and I'd like an answer!"

He laughed heartily, raising his hands in fake surrender: "Peace, Blondie! I don't want you to get angry…not yet, at least. As for your question, well, your windows are not so difficult to open. I know it was quite rude but I had something for you". He put his hand in the pocket of his shirt and took out a little, black thing: he held in front of him, smiling suavely to Beth. She held her breath, recognising the tiny object for what it was: the memory card of a digital camera.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, my dear, it is. It's Foster's memory card, the one with Mick's pictures in it." Josef closed his pale fingers around the little thing which shattered under the pressure.

She felt numb with relief…for a second. "But what if he saved them on a computer?"

Josef looked at his Rolex and twisted his mouth in a parody of a smile: "It won't be a problem. Right now, Foster's cottage is burning down. An unfortunate accident with some device; it happens every day. Humans are so careless…"

"And Foster?" The words slipped out of her mouth before she could even think. Josef's smile disappeared. "Do you really want to know it?"

She nodded, unable to speak. "Well, his body will not be found, that's for sure". He watched her, waiting for a reaction. Beth gasped: "You…did you…?" She couldn't finish the sentence; she just stood there, shivering in her bathrobe.

Josef grinned: "I don't mess with scum. I pay someone else to do it". Beth shook her head, unable to believe what she had just heard. "How can you joke about it?", she asked with a trembling voice. He looked genuinely surprised: "I'm not joking. I'm being realistic. You knew what you were asking for". His voice was now as cold as marble.

Beth sighed; she just wanted to end the conversation, to go to bed and forget everything: "Yes. Yes, I knew", she muttered, so low a normal person wouldn't have been able to hear her. "So, what do you want?", she asked bluntly.

Now the smile on Josef's face was very different: it was a slow, suggestive grin that gave her goose bumps. He patted lightly on the sofa: "Well, to begin with I want you to sit down by my side". _Ok, _she thought, _I can do it. I just have to go and sit down_. She refused to listen to the part of her brain that was screaming "Red alert!" and sat down stiffly on the sofa, careful not to be too close to the vampire who was clearly having fun. Beth had always thought of herself as a brave person: her terrible ordeal when she was a little child had hardened her; now she wasn't easily scared and she had learnt to face trouble in a very straightforward manner. She decided to take the lead. Avoiding carefully his eyes, she gathered her courage and spoke: "I know what you want, Josef".

He raised an eyebrow: "Do you?"

Beth took a deep breath and clenched her hands: "Yes. You want…well, I guess you want a taste of my blood. All right, here it is" and she offered him her neck, blushing furiously.

She heard him chuckle, but she wasn't able to see his face. He leaned towards her until his nose touched slightly the soft, white skin just under her jawbone. He inhaled delicately: "You smell of roses, Beth", he whispered. She felt his hand gently touching her hair.

Then his lips pressed right on her pulse and she toughened herself, waiting for the sting of his bite…which didn't come. Josef raised his head and laughed: "Thank you, darling, but it's not your blood I want to taste…even if, believe me, I'm sorely tempted".

Beth looked at him in disbelief. His eyes, just a few inches from her face, were a pale shade of silver now, but his fangs were still retracted. "You don't want my blood?"

"No, but I must tell you you're lucky I've got the self control only 400 years of practice can give. A younger, less expert vampire couldn't resist such a mouth-watering offer". He laughed again and Beth began to feel a wave of rage: which kind of game was he playing?

"What the hell do you want, then?", she exploded, letting out all the tension of the last days.

Josef shook slowly his head, smirking: "Well, I _do_ want a taste after all".

Beth frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but in that same second Josef leaned again towards her, his hands cupping her face. She was taken completely by surprise.

"Only, not of your blood".

And she froze completely when his mouth crashed on hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Just a few words to apologize: I haven't been uploading for ages but I will try to make amend as soon as possible. Family, work and a serious case of writer's block are battling against me, but I won't surrender!

Many, many thanks to all the people that read, reviewed or put the story on their alert: it means a lot to me.

I promise, cross my heart, that I will update, hopefully by the end of the month.

Thank you all.

PS: I miss Moonlight. Don't you?


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